Inside the ropes at the 111th U.S. Open

Houstonian Jeff Kuhn, co-author of The Rules of Golf in Plain English and a veteran of more than 35 USGA championships, is serving as a rules official at the Open and offering up commentary.

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Sunday, June 19

Not a bad Father’s Day for Jerry McIlroy! I watched Rory put the finishing touch on his victory from a clubhouse balcony overlooking the 18th green. He didn’t survive this Open, he grabbed it by the throat on day one and never let go.

Rory is now the king of the new wave of 20-somethings who seem to be dominating the game. If this was the start of bigger accomplishments, the future of golf is in good hands. Every single administrator who has had contact with Rory describes him as sincere, gracious, and friendly. Everyone on the property was pulling for him to finish this one.

It’s been another exciting, special week at the U.S. Open. And one more cool thing about this gig – tomorrow morning I have a tee time at Congressional.

Take care until our next national championship.

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Padraig Harrington sets a good example for other golfers with how he engages the crowd by smiling, waving, and tossing balls to kids.
And by the way, his driver head cover says “Wilson Staff,” but he hits a TaylorMade.

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If you’re watching on TV, the small viewing booth behind the 16 green, just left of the TV cameras, was built for the Secret Service. But I don’t believe that President Obama ever came on campus.

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I was just cleaning out my locker and was close by when Paul Casey was being interviewed. He was describing his poor play this week, and when recounting the specifics (only 4 fairways on Thursday and 3 Friday) he suddenly burst out laughing and said that he must have been exceptional to do that and only be 5 over!

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Graeme McDowell just finished a well-played effort to defend his title. At minus 2, he’s just a couple of touchdowns short.

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I finished today’s round, grabbed a cigar and a beer and went out to the grandstands just in time to see Rory stuff it on hole 10. Now, it’s just a matter of how many records he sets.

Kaymer and Harrington were very entertaining. Not only do they play well, they have fun doing it. The putters held them back today.

Today’s setup was almost the full yardage. But many hole locations were in birdie places.

The battle continues for second place and low amateur.

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I’ll be very interested to see today’s course setup. At the three-quarters pole, there is a record number of players under par. Yesterday’s low scoring was produced by the rain-softened greens and several tee markers being significantly moved forward (9, 10, and 18). I suspect that the staff will tip it out today.

I just saw some video of the Obama-Boehner golf outing. Obama has gone to a longer belly putter, a sign of weakening nerves. I wonder if this has been caused by the unemployment rate or having to pretend to be friends with Nancy Pelosi?

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Will Rory be crowned today? Insiders say that he has top superstar talent and that when he learns how to get a major to the finish line, he may well go on a Tiger-like run. There’s evidence to support that — he’s had the lead at some point in the last four majors — he just hasn’t closed the deal yet.

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Happy Father’s Day. I remember my first visit to a U.S. Open. My father took me to Champions Golf Club (1969?) for the third round. It rained.

The Washington Post continues extensive coverage of Rick Perry’s beauty-contest tour and his flirting with a presidential bid. Meanwhile back home, the Texas Legislature is in special session trying to figure out if “Rainy Day Fund” is a figurative term or a literal one.

Today at 12:20 EDT I’ll be the walking official for Harrington and Kaymer.

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Saturday, June 18

Rory keeps rolling and it looks like the only competition will be for first runner-up.

Talk about timely reporting: Today, Webb Simpson incurred a one-stroke penalty on the 13th green when his ball moved after he addressed it.

When this happens next year, there will likely be a different outcome.
Today’s most interesting ruling came when Ryo Ishikawa’s ball came to rest on the walk bridge over the ravine in front of 9 green. There’s a decision on point. He was entitled to free relief from the obstruction under Rule 24, but his drop had to be down in the ravine.
Off to dinner.

I just finished the third round. Delia Nava and I shared officiating with two players from the Asian tour. The golf was unremarkable on a day that the course seems set up for low scoring.
There are elevation changes on almost every hole, so the up and down walk is a real workout. Including walk-backs to tees, crossovers between 9 and 10, and the long walk from 18 to the clubhouse – the total distance is approximately 8,500 yards (5 miles).
Trust me, the Ben & Jerry’s Fudge Brownie ice cream bars are going down guilt free.
Stay tuned.

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Nothing is cast in stone, but 2012 rules changes are leaking out this week. There are tweaks to the rule book every 4 years. One of the significant changes for next year will be the definition of “addressing the ball.” It will now only concern placing your club directly behind your ball and not include anything about stance.

In addition, some of the TV incidents in the past few years have motivated a change in Rule 18-2b (ball moving after. address). There will now be an exception – if it’s certain that the player didn’t cause the ball to move, there won’t be an automatic one-stroke penalty. Although this seems more fair, in the future this will be a nightmare subjective call for rules officials.

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Today’s big golf match is not Rory vs The Field. The town is buzzing about President Obama and Speaker Boehner playing golf today at an undisclosed location. I wonder what’s the wager: debt ceiling; Medicare cuts; or, health care?

Michael Whitehead just completed his second round after yesterday’s weather suspension. Although he missed the cut, he was still smiling. I’m sure that he’ll be back.

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Friday, June 17

Today’s best story from my peers: Stevie Williams (on Adam Scott’s bag) actually laughed out loud when a fan yelled, “Did Tiger cheat on you too?”

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Local papers had plenty of Weiner coverage. Although his political career is done, D.C. and scandals will remain.
Trivia bonus round — name the women who caused these guys to lose zipper control: John Ensign, Gary Hart, and John Edwards.

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It will be interesting to compare today’s average scoring with yesterday’s. Generally, the course was soft from Thursday’s rain. This usually allows pros more control of their shots. But they would have to be precise today because all the hole locations seemed to be tucked in corners or very close to ridges in the greens.

Whatever the average is, obviously one guy is lapping the field. Two crummy shots on 18 earned McIlroy a double bogey. That is the only hole that he has played over par! On this course, that’s unbelievable. This performance reminds everyone of Tiger at Pebble in 2000. Will it continue, or will some mental scar tissue from Augusta reel him back to the field?
Stay tuned.

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Cynthia and I were out on the course, enjoying golf, when the weather warning was posted. The storm came fast and hard. As we took off for the clubhouse, many spectators were huddled under concession tents, grandstands, or anything that might provide shelter. My next beer was in the USGA hospitality room, looking like a drowned rat.

Time for 2011 trivia:
Who was the last player to win a major with a wooden-headed driver? Year and event?

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Today’s round was fun and relaxing. An outstanding performance was turned in by Patrick Cantlay, a UCLA player who some groups named “College Player of the Year.” He eased his way around the back nine in only 30 strokes. So far, his 67 is the second lowest round of the day.

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Political Intrigue:
1. Tiger’s caddie, Steve Williams, is working for Adam Scott this week. Do you think that he needs a paycheck badly, or is he thinking about getting a new horse?
2. Earlier in the week, some players went to visit President Obama. It’s nice that he’s embracing the event, but I hope he wasn’t courting votes. The number of professional golfers who vote Democratic is almost zero.

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I’m headed to the course at 5:30 am for a 7:11 assignment. This is fun, right?

I hope that being one of the first groups out will lead to a faster pace of play. Yesterday’s round took 5 hours and 15 minutes, including 35 minutes of wait time. It reminded me of being in the airport security line behind three families who have never been on an airplane.

Much of the waiting was at hole 6. In 1997, this hole was just another long (500-yard) par 4. The USGA wanted to create a risk-reward decision for the players, so they built another tee at 550 yards and called it a par 5.

Stay tuned.

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Thursday, June 16

My wife Cynthia enjoyed the White House tour this morning. She reported that it’s most impressive and that she learned many historical tidbits. I too have recently learned some history. Thanks to Sarah Palin’s explanation, I now understand that Paul Revere’s ride was to warn the British that we knew that they knew that we knew they were coming.

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17-year-old Matteo Manassareo will be a force to be reckoned with. On holes 6-10, he hit laser iron shots within eight feet of the hole. He only made two of the putts, failing to capitalize on his great ball striking.

The USGA loves to make clever pairings. Just ahead of my Italians was the Spanish Armada (Garcia, Jimenez, and Quiros). Several of their gallery wore sombreros.

Continuing the international theme, how many fingers do you need to count the Americans on the leaderboard?

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Today’s round was like a leaking tire. All three players started well, especially Francisco Molinari who birdied three of the first four holes. He lost a couple of shots and then completely derailed after suffering a DPE (dumb putting event) on hole 13. A DPE is when you hit more putts than Newt Gingrich has ex-wives. He then hit one loose shot after another, bogeying five of the final six holes.
By the way, Matteo Manassereo needs an eye exam. He squints terribly trying to follow his shots.
More later, ciao.

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With lots of family support, Michael Whitehead had a successful start to his first Open. His opening tee shot at the par-3 10th hole got airborne, landed on the green, and he made par. Drew Scott, the Rice golf coach is caddying for him.

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Wednesday, June 15

We just finished our international relations meeting at the hotel bar. Officials from Asia, Australia, Europe, Canada, the PGA Tour, and the USGA convened after dinner to discuss important issues such as your ball moving after address (likely a 2012 rules change).
Tomorrow my wife Cynthia is going on a DC tour, including the White House, lunch, and shopping. She’s hoping to run by Tiffany’s and hit Newt’s credit line.

Stay tuned.

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I have just left the Rules Committee dinner held at the Chevy Chase Club. Very nice.

My assignment for Thursday afternoon (1:35) is to be the walking official for the Italian army: the Molinari brothers and Matteo Manassero. Chio.

No unique rules issues this year, except for the lake surrounding holes 10 and 18. Regardless of the markings where your ball last crossed the margin of the hazard (yellow vs. red), the entire lake will be a regular water hazard when playing hole 10 and a lateral hazard when playing hole 18.

Stay tuned.

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A cool thing at the Open is the “All Access” pass given to the officials. This grants us more privileges than Arnold’s housekeeper. I can breeze through the media center, scoring, the locker room, or any other guarded entrance. Because of the large Congressional clubhouse, we even have lockers along with the players.

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The normal buzz surrounding Tiger Woods is absent this week, giving the media room to cover other stories.

One of those is Michael Whitehead, the Houstonian who filled Tiger’s spot. Michael is a great young man who I know from many Houston area events. A recent Rice grad, only three weeks ago he was playing in the NCAA regionals. This week he’s making his professional debut in the Open. I’m going to check on him tomorrow and make sure that he’s still breathing.

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Greetings from our nation’s capital:

I arrived Tuesday afternoon and immediately went to Congressional for my first look at this course that has previously hosted two Opens.

Some fellow rules officials and I did our “walk-through” – learning about routing, hazards and where on the course we’ll likely have to be prepared to make rulings.

This parkland-style layout has a challenging stretch at the start, holes 2 through 5. Hole 16, a reachable par 5, should produce movement on the leaderboard. But this championship won’t be decided until everyone gets past the brutal 18th hole. Unlike home, there haven’t been drought conditions here. There was rain over the weekend, and the forecast has a 40 percent chance of t-storms later this week. As a result, the graduated rough is very thick and the bentgrass fairways won’t have much roll. Many of the players might actually have to hit medium irons or more into several of the long 4 pars.

I ate lunch Tuesday with David Price, the veteran rules official involved in the Dustin Johnson incident in last year’s PGA. It’s sad how many ways that 2-stroke penalty could have been avoided. Dustin has a new caddie now.

I got to say hello to Ken Venturi, the 1964 champion, and visit with Ryan Moore, with whom I walked in 2009.

For obvious reasons (we’re in Washington, D.C. and I’m a lazy joke writer), this year’s blog may adopt a political flavor. Way back in 1897, Mark Twain wrote, “It could probably be shown by facts and figures that there is no distinctly native American criminal class except Congress.” So, why would the wealthy, influential members of Congressional name their club after a group that has a lower approval rating than al-Qaida?

People often ask me: ”What do professionals consider the most important major?” My answer is always the same. It depends who you ask and when. We don’t need to ask Thomas O. Kite of Austin, Texas. At the age of 61, he was one of 8,300 players who attempted to qualify for his country’s national championship. He didn’t make it, but we know where his heart lies.

Welcome to the grittiest, toughest, most tension-filled test in golf: the United States Open Championship. Stay tuned,